Tours, France - Très Belle

Bonjour! Merci! Au revoir! These were about the only words I understood or spoke to anyone outside my travel companions for the five days I spent in France this past trip, yet it did not take language in my opinion to understand or appreciate what the French are all about.

Jenny, Danielle and I started our trip in Tours, a small and charming French city an hour away from Paris by train. Tours is in the Loire Valley, an area known for the purest French language, wine vineyards and our biggest selling point, chateaus. When we had arrived and settled into our hotel in Tours we took a walk around the city and I have to say I was taken a back by how FRENCH everything was. Name a French stereotype (well the positive ones) and we saw it, the best example being a stylish French woman riding the streets with a baguette in her bicycle basket. After wandering and cooing over the beautiful streets and gardens like the tourists we are, we had a lovely dinner in a restaurant terrace on the street. Our cultural ignorance became apparent though as we struggled to get the check. We played a coy cat and mouse game with the waiter trying to get the check and pay for our meals for over and hour and half. I guess we lost as I had to go find him in the restaurant and hand him the money so we could get change and leave. We looked up french restaurant etiquette afterwards and according to google the french really dont want you to feel rushed out so you have to be insistent about the check or even make moves to leave. Very polite, but to quote a wise American woman, "aint nobody got time for that."

On our way back to the hotel Jenny stopped in confusion as she caught sight of her local news station in a restaurant. We looked at the caption and saw Boston Marathon explosiones and rushed back to our hotel in a panic. Marathon monday is one of the most anticipated and celebrated events at Boston College and in Boston in general. It was something we had discussed regretfully missing that day. In our hotel we were able to get updated on the terrible event but thankfully we were able to confirm the safety of our friends in Boston. We spent the rest of the night in the hotel keeping updated on the news. Definitely a sobering and frightening moment on our trip, but we could only send our thoughts and prayers to the city so close to our hearts and be thankful of both our friends safety and our own safety. 

The next day we had booked a chateau/wine tasting tour, but had a couple of hours to kill before so we explored the medieval section of Tours. Bakeries, flower shops, creperies, narrow cobbled roads, it was hard not to fall in love. Tours was another city leveled by WWII, so half of the city is very industrialized, but the touristy section maintains its charm. We stopped for a light lunch and then met for our tour. Because we were there on a Tuesday in the spring we had the privilege of a private tour van with a petite tour guide with a whole lot of energy. She spent the drive telling us the history of the chateau of Chenonceau, our first stop. It was most famous for being a gift from Henry II to his mistress Diane de Poitiers. Henry's wife Catherine de Medici didn't like that very much so upon his death she made poor Diane swap her for a different chateau: bad deal. The chateau built over the River Cher had it all; gardens, extravagant rooms, a hedge maze, donkeys. Basically I was ready to move in. 

But alas we had to move on and we stopped at the Chateau d' Amboise where Leonardo da Vinci is supposedly buried. We opted out of the tour of this Chateau as views were better from the city (and it gave us the opportunity to get gelato/coffee). The last stop on the tour was at a winery in the valley. We were able to go into the cave where the wine is made and stored and see the process for making sparkling white wine. We then got to sample all types of wine made in the winery. I expected a big to do on the proper way to taste wine, but when I asked our tour guides response was, "drink it." So much for french propriety! Two things I learned that I found fascinating were that they grew the grapes for the wine for a minimum of four years and also that the business had been in the family since 1508. The owner even told me his son or daughter (who were little) would take over after him. As a side note, the winery also had a a huge, wrinkly, loving dog so I spent my time evenly between wine tasting and rubbing its belly. Danielle and I ended up buying one of their white wines and splitting it on our hotel terrace later that night. 

Tours was lovely and we were sad to leave, yet the next leg of journey was Paris which I will leave you in suspense about until my next post! 

Gdansk, Poland - Super Cut

To quote my friend Jordan in his San Franciscan language, "Gdansk is super cut." I had never heard the phrase and I cant say even now that  I understand it but his explanation is that Gdansk is a place not many people would even think to visit. Booking a trip to Gdansk, Poland was one part frugality, one part spontaneity, and many parts chance. With classes ended, most of our friends traveling to different parts of Europe, and a friend who bailed on visiting, we (Jenny, Jordan and I) decided to look into a short trip. We checked skyscanner and compared the top cheapest flights. Jordan had already been to France and Jenny and I were going to be there in a little over ten days anyway, so we eliminated that. The city in Germany the flight was to was not that exciting according to google. Jenny had plans to go to Ireland the weekend before so that would not make a lot of sense. What did that leave? Gdansk, Poland a place on nobody's list, but with beautiful google images and prices too cheap to ignore.

As the rest of our friends packed for Spain and Italy, the three of us prepared for the chill of the Baltic Sea. We probably looked nuts. The trip did not start off well as we got settled on the bus to the airport (an hour away) only to have Jordan hop off to quickly use the bathroom and then have the bus drive away without him. The situation was even worse when Jenny and I realized that Jordan's bag, which he had left on the bus, had his phone in it. Despite some travel nightmare stress, Jordan managed to catch the next bus and meet us at the airport in time for our flight. In landing the absurdity continued, as we stepped off and realized it was SNOWING in Poland.

After Jordan missed the bus 

Realizing it was snowing in Poland

A little overwhelmed, we managed to find our hostel and from there any stress or regrets dissipated. This hostel was literally incredible. Clean (they even made us take our shoes off) and modern, the place had a great common space (they even said they would download any movie for us) and provided us with free breakfast all for less than $15 USD a night. The staff was super friendly and very interested in the fact that we were American, which turned out to be a common thing among the Polish people we interacted with. After getting a quick dinner we spent the night walking along the water's edge in Gdansk, which was so beautiful it was worth braving the chilliness.

Our beautiful hostel

The next day we got an early start in order to cover as many of the recommended Gdansk sites as possible. We started with a visit to St. Mary's Basilica, which is the largest brick church in Europe. From there you can pay to climb the 400 stairs of the tower to what was promised to be the best view in Gdansk. Can I just say 400 stairs is a lot. Regardless, we made it to the top and got some awesome views of Poland. The architecture of Gdansk was fascinating because the city was devastated in WWII, and in their rebuilding chose french and italian influences. It makes for a very charming city and works to disguise some of Poland's history. The other influence to the appearance of Gdansk comes from its location by the sea. In some ways the city reminded me of Westport, with its fancy shops by the water side. Besides tourism one of their greatest industries is amber, a precious mineral found in the water, and because of that there is an amber shop every 100 feet or so. We walked the entire city and took some great pics of the streets and big attractions and ended the night with dinner at a very nice restaurant. A hearty polish meal and beer cost me ten bucks so I was psyched. Unfortunately the crew was beat/sick so we did not explore the nightlife even with the insistence of the hostel staff (they marked like 8 bars/clubs on the map for us). 

Main street in Gdansk 

Neptune statue

Picture from 1945 of Gdansk

View from St. Mary's to compare

Seaside in Gdansk

Panoramic view of main square in Gdansk

Jordan climbing the stairs of St. Mary's Basilica

View from St. Mary's Basilica

Jenny and I at the top of St. Mary's Basilica

View of seaside Gdansk and the Crane

A street in Gdansk

Our last day we were surprised with blue sky and sunshine. We had a few hours to kill before we had to make our way to the airport so we went to the 2 for 1 amber/torture museum in the old prisoner tower. Probably the weirdest combination ever, we spent an hour learning about amber from its origins as tree sap to modern art only to then learn about the gruesome nature of Polish torture in the middle ages. The amber art was quite beautiful but the collective favorite part of the museum was the microscope that projected the inclusions in amber on a big screen tv. With every gross mosquito or beetle magnified Jenny and I would exclaim EWW only to pick another - we are clearly children. The torture part definitely revealed the dark undercurrent of Polish history. The museum exhibited several prisoner cells the creepiest part being the exhibition of carvings done in the cell by condemned men, with graphic pictures of various torture methods next to it. 

Jordan and the neon chicks in Gdansk on a much sunnier day

Neptune statue in sunlight

Main street in Gdansk in sunlight

Not sure what this building was but it was pretty

Creepy carvings by prisoners in torture museum

Amber tree in amber museum

Old Prisoner's tower where the museums were

In some ways the dichotomy between a light modern Poland and the dark history of Poland became a theme for the week, because despite certain efforts to portray Gdansk as a fancy summer destination, flashes of the past shown through. WWII and the effects of communism are still prevalent, though the friendliness of the Polish people makes me think they are proud of Gdansk now and want the world to know it. We were approached on the street by two young women who recognized we spoke English and who told us they ran meetings for international youth on the weekends. They asked us our opinions on Poland and our outlook for the future in the modern world -- definitely heavier conversation than I was expecting on this little vacation. Their political consciousness and effort to reach out to tourists spoke to their pride for Poland.

example of dichotomy

If I had to summarize this surreal trip I would have to say in many ways it was more eye-opening than any experience I have had or possibly could have in the traditional tourist hot spots. Unlike London, Amsterdam or even Prague I actually felt completely foreign in Gdansk and the trip became less about the fairytale of travel and more about the history and culture of a foreign country. The fact that Gdansk, unlike these other cities, was completely destroyed by WWII and only escaped communism in 1989 has a lot to do with this as well as the fact that not many Americans have it on their top places to visit in Europe. Gdansk was different and I really like that. 

The East End - My Backyard

The East End

Some might say that when searching for adventure, start in your own backyard. When your backyard is London, its almost too easy.

I am in a study abroad program at Queen Mary University, which is situated in the East End. The East End was historically a poorer area of London made notorious at one point for the murders committed by one Jack the Ripper. The area has long been populated by immigrants and refugees, first the Hugenots, then Irish and Jewish families, and now Bangladeshis. More recently the area has been recognized as a hipster hot spot, famous for its rich art culture.

It is also home to the famous Brick Lane, a street filled with curry houses (that each promise they have been awarded the best curry in the world), and Spitalfields Marketplace, an upscale covered market. BC provided us with a free "alternative" east end tour in february, which gave me background information on the east end as well as new knowledge into the fascinating world of street art. The tour guide made it clear to not confuse street art with graffiti, which is in essence just individuals tagging property. Street artists often travel around the world creating signature pieces of art on either authorized or unauthorized property. It is so special because of both the speed these pieces are usually created in and the techniques used (most often spray paint).

Really great curry house I ate at on Brick Lane

I revisited the East End with two friends this week (a convenient two stops on the tube from our school), and was once again struck by what a cool area it is. Hidden among the art galleries and trendy cafes are some astounding pieces often with even stronger messages. You wont find the poshness of South Kensington, or propriety of the West End here. Instead it is a place for the clashing of culture, creativity and ideas, which creates an undeniably exciting energy. The dynamic nature of the East End can not be denied as we saw a new piece that had been revealed only a few short weeks since we had last been there, where the artist had used explosives to reveal an image etched in the concrete underneath. I mean who comes up with that?

Danielle and I in Shoreditch

Concrete street art

Danielle and Jenny Spitalfields Market

Street Artis - ROA, can you believe this was done in 8 hours??

Stik - an artist who was once homeless now sells out prints of his work!

The sunshine gave us the motivation to continue exploring and we ended up in Shoreditch, an area with a similar story to the East End in that it used to be considered not a great part of town and is now an up and coming area with great nightlife. These parts of London may not be the most famous but for a university student I think they are fantastic.

This seems like a good idea!

Today was a good day. Something about getting to see the sun makes me want to experience new things, be a better (and more productive me), and apparently start a blog. After much urging from family and friends to record my study abroad experience and several failed attempts to keep a journal, I will try my best to document this incredible opportunity here.

First I want to say how thankful and truly lucky I am to be here. I went into this experience without preparation, knowledge or serious expectations for living and studying (ok to be fair a loose term) abroad. What I have seen and experienced thus far has opened my eyes to the incredible variation of lifestyle around the world. If I could talk to myself before I left I would say GET EXCITED - LIFE IS GOING TO GET SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING!

Alright here is the sparknotes version of what happened my first two months here. I arrived in London in January with the coat on my back and my letter of acceptance (as my luggage was lost), and thankfully met Jenny at the airport (among hundreds of wonderful qualities Jenny has saved me so many times on this trip!). We arrived at Queen Mary, set up our rooms, ate a supposedly traditional but perfectly dreadful british meal and luckily later that night met a great group of kids I have been lucky to spend my time with here. Fast forward past the frustration of having no means of communication, having to fight the university registration system and no luggage (ok just for two days I will let it go), the first couple weeks were a magical time of exploring the greatest tourist sites of London, realizing there was little class and even less work to do, and drinking. I learned that you have to stand on the right side of escalators, you are supposed to eat mayo on your chips (fries), and that I attend uni not college. I was able to see so much of London and I will try and post lots of pictures but what is amazing is that I feel like I have not even scratched the surface of possible things to experience in London.

Jenny, Julie and me on the Thames in front of Tower Bridge

BC kids having tea!

Jenny, Laura and me in the Docklands

Big Ben

St. Paul's Cathedral

The girls in front of Buckingham Palace

Also during this time I got to travel to Oxford, Amsterdam and Prague. I really enjoyed Oxford and its collegiate atmosphere. The city was small but charming and our tour guide had me convinced it was magical after he talked about secret underground passageways. I spent my 21st birthday in Amsterdam and I mean how many people can say they did that. There we saw the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, the red light district, did the Heineken experience, went to an authentic coffee shop and went on a pancake cruise (exactly what it sounds like). We then moved on to Prague, a city that is deceivingly hard to describe. After seeing Prague castle we visited the Jewish Museum, where contained in one synagogue were the drawings of children from a czech ghetto during WWII. I have to say I have been struck by the overwhelming presence of WWII in Europe. Its not something I think about back home in the US, but here it is impossible to ignore. Historic in the daytime, Prague was even more impressive at night. Besides being fairytale like, Prague had some of the coolest bars I have been to abroad. One night we went to a bar in an underground cave, another night to a bar that served specialty beers, and another night we went on a pub crawl that ended at a 5 story club.

Jenny, Charlie and me on a tour in Oxford in front of the Bridge of Sighs

Jenny and me in Amsterdam

One of the many views of the canals in Amsterdam

Everyone in front of the IAmAmsterdam sign

Everyone in front of the John Lennon Wall in Prague

The lock gate from the bachelorette in Prague - put on a lock for luck in love!

View of Prague at night

Church in Prague castle

The girls in Prague 

Spectacular view of Prague from the castle

Another pretty view of Prague

On return from this trip I actually had to (sort of) buckle down and be a student. The university system here is so bizarre compared to home in that I spent more time during the week out of class than in it and our final grade comes down to one or two assessments. Oh and now I have two months left to take 3 finals. I leave for Gdansk Poland tomorrow and then in a week, France and Switzerland. Here is to more adventures to come!!